Fire, Ice, & Embers
by Crimson Angel Sin
Summary: NK/SS/JKxOC During summer vacation, a girl watches a storm dance outside. With a sudden power outage and a strange mist in the air, her world changes drastically. In her opinion, it has changed for the better... Rated for suggestive themes
1. Swept Away & Running Away

_Disclaimer: I do not own _InuYasha_. I do, however, own any characters that do not show up in the series. So far, Ember is the only OC, but others may crop up later._

_Crimson: This story is going to be a little odd. I'm not even sure where exactly I'm planning on going with it. **shrugs** Oh well, it will be an adventure for the authoress and readers alike. _

_READ ON!_

* * *

Chapter One–

Swept Away & Running Away

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Kayla? Where are you?" Jen, my sister, asked as she journeyed through the house in search of our little cousin. Kayla's own baby sister, Kinze waddled close to Jen's heels. I sat in a thankfully-vacant room, trying to ignore all the commotion in the rest of the house. My notebook lay open on my knees, the pages blank. I had my attention focused on the lace-covered window, watching the thunderstorm roil outside.

It was Easter, which meant that I was stuck at my aunt's house, trying not to gag on all the cigarette smoke wafting into my nostrils. I had decked myself all out in black again: a black top with puffy sleeves, a black mini skirt with silver chains, and black socks with dragon designs on them. I had black boots, too, but I had taken them off as soon as we had walked through the door. Twin ribbons made of dark-violet cloth tied up my hair in pigtails on either side of my head. My hair, itself, was a rich black that faded into a stormy-grey at the ends. All in all, I thought I looked cute. I even wore a pretty amethyst stone around my neck. The black cord it hung on wrapped twice around my neck. The gem had been with me ever since I could remember. If I hadn't known better, then I'd swear that I had been born with it. Even though no one could see it, a Buddhist bracelet decorated my right wrist–a symbol of one of the many religions I had been delving into lately. The deeper I got into my studies, the darker and more reclusive I seemed to grow. Just that morning, for example, I had accidentally provoked a verbal argument with my parents. They told me that I was being selfish and therefore had no right to call my siblings such things when neither of them had allowed me to borrow a CD player. I knew that it was foolish to get upset over such a stupid thing, but just the mere fact that they would accuse me of something like that irritated me. It was like the pot calling the kettle black, or however that saying went . . . .

A crack of lightning issued from the black thunderheads outside, catching my attention. I never thought it odd that only Mother Nature could calm me down; and that it was Nature that I trusted and nothing else. If I had been denied her comforting embrace and grown up in some suffocating city . . . well, let's just say that there would be no doubt in my mind that I would not have remained sane for very long.

I sighed, watching a fork of lightning stretch across the blackened sky as it made its way down to the horizon. As the afterimage faded into the storm, the power flickered then went out. I rolled my grey eyes at the squeals that came from the children. I ignored the hustle and bustle in the other rooms, figuring that I would let the "adults" handle things.

I was about to return to my sky-watching when those delighted cries turned into frightened screams. My body snapped up from the chair, instinct kicking in and turning my storm-grey eyes an unnatural shade of red. I sped out of the room, finding my little sister and cousin right outside the doorway. They cowered on the ground, eyes wide in fear. I spotted the intruder in an instant. I felt my own eyes go wide with disbelief.

"Naraku?" My mind whirled in confusion. I had just been thinking about him; and now, here he stood as clear as day and as real as me.

"So you can see me, little demon?"

His voice made me shiver, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was because of fear. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up at sudden, intrusive thoughts. My heart, too, sped up as certain images kept passing through my head, and my breathing came in ragged gasps as my mental prowess intensified those feelings a hundred fold._ 'Curses_,_'_ I thought._ 'I just _had_ to receive this gift!'_ My strangely-colored eyes watched the half-demon before me cautiously. He seemed to be amused at my sudden discomfort and I muttered profanities at him in my head, knowing that he would be able to hear any _actual_ mutterings. I had no desire to increase his amusement.

"You're aroused? At my presence alone?" he inquired, sounding smug.

I snorted at him, regaining control of my emotions.

Naraku smirked, "You hide things well, demoness. Or should I say 'hanyou'?" He watched me closely, coming nearer. I growled threateningly, still under sway of instinct. His comments hadn't had time to sink in yet. My normally-grey eyes glowed a bright crimson at his own red gaze as he approached without hesitation.

I had yet to notice my family, all of whom had dropped to the floor unconscious. Naraku took painstaking care to keep my gaze firmly locked onto himself so that I would not see the slumped forms of my pack.

His discovery of my ability to see clearly in the pitch-black of the house seemed not to dishearten him in the least; in fact, he walked right up to me and shot out a hand to pin me to the wall by my throat. My clawed fingers dug into his wrists as his grip tightened and choked me. He smirked at my pain, gaining sick pleasure from it.

"Your powers intrigue me, little one." He looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "You will be my servant for the time being." A dark aura built up around us and my aunt's house fell away. I began to panic, afraid that the building had actually collapsed. I didn't have much time to hyperventilate though, seeing as how Naraku's fingers did not loosen their hold on my windpipe. The crushing pressure suffocated me, and I slipped silently into unconsciousness.

* * *

When next I opened my eyes, I was in a Japanese room. That was all I could describe it as: shoji screens for walls (that will make it hell trying to find the door), tatami mats for carpeting (meaning I was in someone's house who got paid very well. I had read that those things were expensive!), and a simple futon which I was currently resting on.

I sat up on said futon and looked around. Finding myself alone in the room, my eyes lit up. If I truly was in the Sengoku Jidai, then there was no way I was going to stay cooped up in Naraku's manor all day. Of course, being with Naraku would be a lot of fun–he had a lot of payback coming–but traveling around the countryside and "bumping" into InuYasha and the others sounded even more entertaining.

With this in mind, I decided to try out my rusty sneaking abilities. I had been a little "thief" when I was a child, and basically a Houdini. Heck, I even had a friend or two start calling me "Sniper" because I could get right up behind them without them sensing my presence. I was quite proud of the last two things. The thief part kind of made me squirm uncomfortably, but, well, what could I do? It's in the past, and I can't change that. At least I had learned a few tricks of the trade: moving as quiet as a mouse being one of them.

I eased my body off the floor, grateful when none of the boards creaked from my movements. I padded silently to what I thought was the door. Putting my hand on the shoji screen, I closed my eyes and opened my mind to sense if anyone waited on the other side. Instantly, I felt a mixture of simmering hate and silent desperation hit me full-on. I slammed up my mental defenses once again, shaking myself physically in a futile effort to get rid of the unsettling emotions. It always felt like this–as if I had slipped into someone else's skin. It felt foreign and downright disgusting. I breathed out a heavy sigh, wondering why the gods had bestowed the power onto me. I shook my head again, my sense of balance wavering as I just ended up dizzy and with a slight headache. Turning away from the door that probably lead to the hallway, I headed for the opposite wall. Taking care to keep my breathing and heartbeat steady, I lowered my shields once more–just enough to let in a breath of psychic power. Sensing no presences on the other side of this wall, I began looking for an exit.

My fingers ran along the walls, probing and seeking anything that would mark the presence of a hidden door. I held in the growl of exasperation as I found none. Finally giving up, I sat down cross-legged on the floor and started pulling back my puffy sleeves. Although it would have been much faster to just unzip the sides of the black fabric, I resisted the urge to do so. After all, the less noise I made, the better. At last, I managed to bare one whole arm and the object I had hidden there.

I withdrew the silver dagger from it's sheath that I had clasped to my left underarm. The knife was my athame, Legion. Quite an appropriate name, considering its master could speak several languages, and not just the ordinary, spoken ones either.

I went to work immediately on a part of the screen near the floor. It was a real shame that I had been forced to cut a hole in the beautiful screen wall. As I began sawing away as quietly as possible, I found myself thinking that now I would have to get away before Naraku found the gaping hole in his precious castle. Not that InuYasha would ever leave his home in any better shape . . . .

* * *

**.::MEANWHILE in the front of Naraku's manor::.**

"NARAKU!" InuYasha shouted at the top of his lungs, anger coursing through him. "I'll definitely kill you today! Prepare to die, bastard!" Even before he finished his threat, the inuhanyou leapt into the air and raised his fully-transformed fang, Tetsusaiga above his head. Golden eyes glared into the crimson gaze of Naraku as the evil hanyou simply smirked at the white-haired youth. InuYasha swung his sword down with all his strength, targeting Naraku's head. It looked to everyone who had engaged in the battle that Naraku had been caught, but, in a split second, Naraku disappeared in a cloud of darkness. InuYasha's anger disappeared to be replaced with shock and confusion. Tetsusaiga cut through what remained of the shadowy mist as if it wasn't there. The inuhanyou landed roughly on the ground that Naraku had just a second before been occupying.

"What the hell?!" InuYasha exclaimed, white ears swiveling on the top of his head as if trying to locate his enemy. Kagome came running up to him, black hair flying behind her.

"Where did Naraku go?" the schoolgirl asked innocently, brown eyes searching the barren ground of the castle. All she spotted were her friends who stood a few yards away. They were also looking around for their enemy's whereabouts.

"I have no idea, Kagome," InuYasha admitted, also noticing Sango's and Miroku's surprised faces. "Hakudoushi and Kohaku disappeared, too." His amber eyes glanced questionably at his friend. He obviously wanted to know if they had disappeared the same way as Naraku had.

Kagome nodded her head in answer to the unspoken inquiry. "Those two disappeared in a black cloud, too. And what's weirder is that they both had surprised looks on their faces. It's like neither of them expected it." The raven-haired girl put a finger to her lips in thought. A worried look entered her eyes. She wasn't sure if whoever had done this was a friend or a foe. Add on the fact that they had no idea where their enemies went, and they were in one hell of a dilemma.

* * *

I couldn't believe what I had just done.

Darkness pressed against my grey eyes. It left me wondering if I even had my eyes open. I was pretty sure they were. After all, I could feel the strain in my eyelids.

Something warm pressed against one of my outstretched hands, startling me out of my trivial thoughts. I pulled my right arm back out of instinct, realizing my mistake too late. The concealing shadows fell away almost immediately at the simple action. Naraku, Kohaku, Hakudoushi, and I all slipped out of the realm of darkness and right onto the grounds of Naraku's castle. I had accidentally let go of the power I had suddenly discovered when I freaked out at InuYasha's attack on Naraku and saved him. My slip-up landed us yards away from InuYasha and his friends, all of whom had shocked expressions on their faces.

_'Crap,'_ was the only thought that went through my head as I scrambled to my feet. I looked all around me, realizing that I was surrounded. Granted, I may have "saved" Naraku and his cohorts but that hardly meant a damn thing if the dark hanyou considered me any sort of threat. He'd kill me in an instant.

Glancing down to my right, I saw what had caused me to lose my concentration: one of Naraku's tentacles. Now, a normal person would have either gagged or shivered in disgust, but–you must remember–I don't belong in the "normal" category. I simply stared at the writhing appendage and blushed. Yes, I blushed. That tentacle was a part of Naraku, for crying out loud! And I didn't even know _which_ part! Well, _that_ thought surely didn't help the vivid images from entering my head. Stupid empathic powers! They always intensified every emotion around me, including my own on occasion. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and caught the glint of amusement in Naraku's crimson eyes. I stuck my nose in the air stubbornly and turned my head away from him. Only problem was that I now faced InuYasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango, Kirara, and Miroku. And their looks of shock were quickly melting into expressions of determination and murderous intent.

_'I'm in trouble,' _I thought to myself, trying not to show my fear to the Inu-tachi. _'I sure hope they don't think _I'm _their enemy, too.'_

"Who the hell are you?!" InuYasha growled, brandishing his fang at me. His glower intensified when Naraku stepped in front of me, blocking me from view.

Apparently, this wasn't going to be easy for me . . . .

"InuYasha," Naraku started in his sickly-sweet voice. I tried to drown him out, but failed. Damn my curiosity. It's going to get me killed one of these days. "Ember is of no concern to you." The man smirked evilly as the inuhanyou started growling.

"Wait," I demanded, stepping out from behind Naraku. I had to sidestep a tentacle as it attempted to wipe me out. I turned to Naraku, ignoring the stares I was receiving from everyone. "You _named _me?" I kept my emotions carefully masked as I asked the question. All I got for a response was a simple nod of the head. I shrugged my shoulders and gave a sigh. Oh well, at least he saw fit to give me a name . . . .

"So you got yourself a new pet then, eh, Naraku?" InuYasha asked, smirking at us.

I frowned at him, not happy with being called a "pet". No one could tame _me_.

"Shut your mouth, Inu-baka," I snapped, recalling the nickname I had seen one of my favorite fanfiction authors use. I glared at the inuhanyou as he brandished his father's fang at me. It didn't take long for Naraku to push me behind him again with one of his long tentacles. This time, however, he held me there. I growled low in my chest at him, calling him any bad word I could think of (even using the other three languages I knew), but all I got for my efforts were an amused smirk and a flicker of his scarlet eyes glancing back at me. I soon gave up, settling for petting the part of Naraku he had inconveniently left wrapped around my waist. A shiver ran beneath my fingers at my light touch, but I ignored it.

"Better teach your pet some manners, Naraku," InuYasha bit out warningly at the dark hanyou writhing in a mass of pieced-together demon flesh before him. His golden eyes, however, were focused squarely on me, burning with an intensity that even had _me _squirming.

Now, the thing you must understand about me first is: I do _not_ get frightened easily. It takes _a lot_ for me to get nervous. I'd rather bite someone's head off before I had to retreat. You know, that whole flight-or-fight thing, right? Well, I was the one who would always choose the _fight_ option. Experience has taught me that much, at least. I _have_ had those adrenaline rushes often enough in my life to _know_ which option I would go with. So, for me to wish Naraku would let me go so I could go running in the opposite direction right about now said quite a bit about what InuYasha's glaring looked like. The television never had done it enough justice.

I shivered as I thought about SesshoMaru's more-terrifying glare. Now _that_ would be terrible for me to endure. I had to turn away from the stares I was receiving from both InuYasha and Naraku at my peculiar reaction to the pup's glowering. I hated myself for being so easily scared, but didn't have too long to think about the reason as to _why_ the glaring bothered me so much. Hakudoushi's red-violet eyes caught and held my grey ones as my gaze slipped to the side. I blinked several times, only vaguely aware of shouting and destruction taking place in the background. At Hakudoushi's self-indulged smirk, I finally broke eye contact with him and turned back to Naraku, acting as if I _hadn't_ just been ogling the youngest incarnate of Naraku's. It hadn't been his angelic beauty that had lured me into staring at him for so long. No way in _hell_ would I do something so vile with a _kid_, demon or not. It had just been the fact that the more I looked at him, the more confused I became. I could feel _nothing_ coming from the kid. Nothing! And I was an empath! The fact that the usually-homicidal Hakudoushi either felt nothing at the moment or was simply immune to my psychic abilities drew me in like a moth to a flame. I wondered vaguely if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. I decided on the good-thing scenario. It would definitely be a relief not to have to feel someone's emotions all the time, not to mention the hundred-times stronger part of it, as well . . . .

"Kohaku, take Ember to safety," Naraku's silky, dark voice registered in my head. I glanced up to see Naraku's pale face turned my way. His crimson eyes burned into mine as I reluctantly released my death grip on his black tentacle-thingy. I hadn't even realized that I had clenched my hands into white-knuckled fists while I had mulled things over in my head. Naraku's inky appendage unwound itself from my waist, but gave my bared stomach a meaningful brush before pushing me back into Kohaku who had come up behind me. Blushing, I let Sango's younger brother lead me to Kagura–whom I hadn't notice arrive on the battlefield, like, five minutes ago . . . . Man, was I losing it or something?

"Kohaku!" Sango called in a strangled yell. Judging from the look on her face, I could tell she was experiencing great pain. Indecision flashed across her pretty features, kindling a spark of sympathy from my own heart. I wanted to help the siblings out somehow, but I had no clue where to start. Looking from her to Kohaku, I noticed something of extreme importance. Reading Kohaku cautiously with my empathic prowess, I instantly recognized the guilt and uncertainty rolling through me. Those were feelings no puppet could possibly experience, meaning only one thing: Kohaku had regained consciousness. Naraku held no power over him any longer. Then why was he still obeying Naraku's orders? I wondered this even as I let myself be guided onto the insubstantial-looking feather, Kohaku's steadying hand on my right elbow.

"Forget it, Sango! He can't hear you!" InuYasha snapped at his comrade, amber eyes still focused on me–the newest enemy; the unknown foe. "I'll just cut you up along with Naraku," he growled under his breath, but, surprisingly, I could still hear his words.

My eyes widened in shock, not used to such cruel behavior from the inuhanyou. I would have expected it from SesshoMaru, maybe, but _never _from InuYasha.

I squeaked as the white-haired boy raised his incredible fang into the air, ready to duck if I needed to. I felt a rush of air–my heart pounding against my ribcage wildly–and we were all in the air. And I do mean _all_ of us–me, Naraku, Kagura, Hakudoushi, and Kohaku. Hakudoushi and Naraku flew on their own power–Naraku using his poisonous miasma while the lilac-haired boy used some sort of glowing sphere. Kagura, Kohaku, and I all rode effortlessly on Kagura's gigantic feather. I expected to fall right through the bottom of it, but the thing felt as solid as wood beneath my fingers. Soft, but solid. What an odd combination . . . . At least, I wouldn't plummet to my death. I sat back on my heels, glancing down just once out of curiosity.

That was a mistake.

As soon as I saw the beautiful landscape gliding beneath me, I swooned. Not in the 'I-want-to-get-the-hell-off-this-thing!' way, but in the 'this-is-so-cool!' way. I leaned far enough over the edge that Naraku had to pull me off the feather and carry me himself so that I wouldn't accidentally send myself toppling to the ground below. I didn't mind, I simply clung to his haori and looked up at the moon shining above us.

"You've caught a peculiar one, Naraku," Hakudoushi commented, red-violet eyes laughing at my endeavors.

I stuck my tongue out at him, not unlike a child, before I continued with my sight-seeing.

"Peculiar, yes," Naraku answered, also staring down at me with amusement in his scarlet gaze. "But extremely powerful. Or so I've been told." The tone of his voice confused me enough to glance up at him. That, too, was a mistake. And a deadlier one.

His piercing eyes held me in thrall. I couldn't even lift a finger. Naraku had me paralyzed, somehow, as if all the breath had unexpectedly been knocked out of me. All I could concentrate on was Naraku's steady breathing, the feeling of his well-muscled chest rising and falling in sync with my own. The black of his hair contrasted sharply with his ghost-white skin, but, by the gods, he pulled the vampire look off with flying colors. Crimson eyes bore into my stormy-grey, prodding and probing my mental barriers. I strived to keep whatever emotions he was feeling from entering my mind, or my heart. Of course, the endeavor fell short of its goal. It always did. I felt desire–both of ours–rising like a geyser between us, only getting hotter as I magnified the intensity of it involuntarily. It took all my strength just to tear my gaze away from the smoldering emotion I could see in Naraku's eyes. That feeling was the worst one of them all.

Lust.

I had felt it before. On more than one occasion. Of course, not all of it was directed towards me. There were a few, er, _undesirable_ situations though. You know, the ones where I had to call the police or have a guy friend walk me home at night. More often than not, however, the white-hot emotion usually involved a couple who were deeply in love and spending a night out on the town. Even in public, such people never could get their minds out of the gutter . . . .

I turned back into the night air, letting the coolness of the wind brush away the heat of my skin. Stubbornly ignoring Naraku (whose eyes I felt burning a hole in the back of my head), I chose to turn my attention towards the two still riding the magic feather. As I watched Kagura turn to glare back at Naraku and Hakudoushi every now and then while Kohaku remained still and silent, simply staring ahead at the dark horizon, I heard Hakudoushi strike up a conversation with Naraku.

"That Kagome-girl is starting to be a bother, Naraku," he commented. His burgundy eyes stared off into the distance as he thought about the raven-haired miko. "She gets stronger every day. Even Kikyo is starting to look pale in comparison to _her_ spiritual powers." He turned to gauge the reaction of his master, just then noticing the spark of interest in my dark-grey eyes. A dark smile pulled at the corners of his lips. I couldn't help but return it with a small smirk of my own. He looked surprised for a moment, then nodded his head approvingly at me.

Naraku noticed the silent exchange between his prize (aka: me) and his incarnate. A pleased smirk graced his own pale lips. "Hm. I'd have to agree with you on that." His scarlet eyes still stared at me without letting up, but I had a feeling that his focus had turned inward, probably thinking about Kagome Higurashi–the miko from earlier.

I thought about the schoolgirl-turned-miko for a minute, too. The wind brushed away a stray strand of hair from my face, caressing my cheek in a loving manner. I swallowed back sudden tears, realizing that something was _in_ the wind. I could feel the deep sadness penetrating my mental barriers. Only the air swirling past our small group left too soon for me to pinpoint the identity of the stranger. I expected a wave of relief to wash over me as soon as the cause of the misery disappeared, like always, but it never came. An echoing black hole–although no where near as vast as the wind's–left me feeling scattered and lost. A part of myself had flown away with the brief breeze, leaving me confused and uncharacteristically-depressed.

A long, pale finger wiped away a traitorous tear as it fell down my cheek. Glancing up, I saw Naraku's crimson eyes watching me emotionlessly. Just as I thought how kind the unusual act was, he said something that completely contradicted his actions.

"Hm. Maybe I'll make you my mate," Naraku smirked, obviously enjoying my shocked reaction. He had to pin me to his chest or else I would have struggled hard enough out of his smothering embrace to fall to my death. My thrashing around only succeeded in making him even more amused, and, judging from the sickly-sweet scent gathering in the air all of a sudden, even more _aroused_ . . . .

I couldn't take anymore of the barrage on my mental barriers. I could almost hear the whoosh of air from the darkness as I let it consume me. Dropping into an unconscious state, I could already imagine the surprised look coming across Naraku's exquisite features as my body went limp in his hold. The last thing I would recall thinking is: _'The bastard better not drop me!'_


	2. As Black As Naraku

_Disclaimer: I do not own_ InuYasha_ . . . no matter how much I want to._

_Crimson: BTW, Kayla, Kinze, and Jen from the first chapter also belong to me. I forgot to mention them in my disclaimer the last time. Oops ^^;; Oh well._

_Jen: What do you mean "Oh well"? That's _me_ you're talking about!_

_Crimson: I guess subconsciously I was trying to get someone to steal you away. That way, I wouldn't have an annoying little sister anymore . . . ._

_Jen: **smirks meanly** You're "Little Sister"._

_Crimson: **blushes** I'M NOT SHORT!_

_Jen: You're just like Edward from _Fullmetal Alchemist_!_

_Crimson: I'M NOT SHORT! I'M NOT SHORT! YOU'RE AN F**** GIANT!_

_Jen: My _little_ sister does not own any of the characters from _InuYasha_, ESPECIALLY SesshoMaru! He's mine! **hugs SesshoMaru plushie**_

_READ ON!_

* * *

**Chapter Two–**

**As Black as Naraku**

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

All I could make out as I opened my eyes was a wall of glaring white. The pain of all that light greeting me so early in the morning made me snap my abused eyes shut once more. I groaned and turned over in my bed, seeking to escape into a darker corner. The simple sheet that had been draped over my body sometime in the night slid off to the side as I moved. I shivered as the cool morning air hit my legs, enjoying the feeling of it wafting over my overheated skin. That is, until someone replaced the blanket over my exposed appendages. With my eyes still closed, I frowned. My body temperature was lower than the average human's so I actually _preferred _the cold over any sort of heat whatsoever. Deciding to test the one watching me sleep, I kicked the covers off me once more. I smirked into the pillow I had my face smashed into when the scratchy cloth did not fall upon me again. Just as I was thinking that I had won the battle, I discovered that I had lost the war. Someone's experienced lips found the back of my exposed neck, nipping and teasing the sensitive skin there. Needless to say, I freaked.

With a shocked scream, I leapt from the bed, landing hard on the wooden planks below. My head spun as I glanced up at a smirking Naraku still relaxing on that very same bed, er, I mean, _futon_. The sheets I had kicked off wrapped around his waist, concealing his hips but revealing his exposed muscular chest and arms. With a start, I realized that he was completely _naked_.

"What the _hell_, pervert?" I screamed at him. I felt an urge to slap him across the face–like Sango does to Miroku–but I feared what the evil hanyou would do in return.

Naraku laughed, his velvety voice raising the hairs on the back of my still-damp neck. I cringed, trying to keep my wild hormones under control. "I am no _hentai_," he argued with a dark chuckle, sitting up and resting one of his pale arms on a raised knee. With his black hair cascading down his lean torso and his crimson eyes leering at me, his words certainly didn't reassure me.

Not one bit.

I snorted at him, making a face. My childishness would never fail to surprise my opponent. Or so I thought . . . .

Naraku's distinctive laughter filled the master's room, sounding–to my ears, at least–even louder than before. "You are definitely a curious one, little _hanyou_," he remarked as he fixated his blood-red gaze a little too low on my chest.

"Hey, buddy!" I shouted, easily returning the male's attention back to my face which was now red with a combination of anger and embarrassment. "Eyes up here! Here!" I ordered, emphasizing my point with a jab of my thumb at my head. Instead of covering up the slight curve of my breasts peeking above my loose shirt collar that had slipped to my shoulders sometime in the night, I let my other hand rest impatiently on my hip. The ruffles of my black skirt–so similar to Kagome's–fluttered softly with my movements, even riding up to reveal a good expanse of my ivory thigh as I let my emotions overpower me.

"I _really_ don't want to be around you anymore," I growled between clenched teeth. With my eyes closed tightly, I couldn't see what Naraku's reaction to this declaration would be. Whatever it was, I certainly wasn't expecting to get trapped beneath a heavy weight with my back mashed against the hard floor.

"You are not the one who gets to make that decision," Naraku commented darkly with a hint of venom in his voice. I could tell that if I even took one step out of this place, I was going to get it. And I had a bad feeling (very, _very_ bad) that the _it_ was not going to be a pleasant experience.

I shivered, feeling the unnatural warmth from his body radiate through me. Along with this heat came the overpowering emotion of lust burning its way through my veins. Clenching my eyes shut in an effort to block out the inevitable, I felt Naraku's strong fingers grasp my chin. He tilted my head back far enough for him to get a better reach. I felt his lips crash over mine, greedily drinking in my taste. My muscles tightened instinctively. I stubbornly kept my jaws clenched together even when his tongue ran over my lower lip, demanding entrance. I had been kissed only once before and I had absolutely hated it. Therefore, I was taken by surprise now. The feeling of Naraku's lips moving against my own felt . . . _right_, somehow. It wasn't a turn-off like my first experience had been. In fact, quite the opposite. A rough, passionate touch running along my side and down my right hip had me gasping. Unintentionally, I had opened my mouth to allow Naraku's probing tongue to enter. With what seemed like demon-like speed, Naraku quickly snuck into the deep recesses of my mouth. I almost choked at his sudden intrusion; that and at his hand which had decided to slide up between my thighs.

"Ngh. Stop," I managed to growl out, turning my head away from him and freeing my mouth. His lips came over mine again, completely disregarding what I had said. The feeling of his fingers massaging the inside of my thigh, growing ever closer to where I _so_ did not want him to touch.

"I said 'stop'," my voice sounded weak even to my ears, but I was determined to get the horny male to reign in his lust. With whatever strength I could muster, I shoved at Naraku's chest. I was momentarily distracted by the steel-like muscles lying just beneath the marble-white skin, but quickly shook it off. Once again, instead of listening to what I had ordered, the dark hanyou merely smirked at me, crimson eyes burning into my grey as he moved his lips down to my sensitive neck. My eyes widened in shock and I arched into him as he began to suck at the hollow of my throat.

His aura burned into my thoughts, and I could feel the evil taint encompassing the youki. To say the least, it was unnerving. However, I did not get much of a chance to feel such discomfort for long. My empathic abilities had kicked in once more, beginning to heighten the already-searing emotion of lust. If I didn't stop this soon, then I wouldn't be able to. . . .

"Get off!" I shouted as loud as I could, kneeing him in his stomach. I managed to flip him over my head which surprised me for a bit, but I quickly shook off the shock. Now was not the time for me to comprehend how I had managed to gain inhuman strength all of a sudden. I tried to scramble up but, yet again, a now-familiar weight pushed me back to the floor. Instead of feeling the fear that I should, the only emotion churning in my stomach was irritation. In a distant part of my mind, I realized that this emotion echoed that of the one leaning over my fallen form.

"You are very _amusing_," Naraku chuckled darkly. Shivers ran down my spine, but I was certain they weren't from fear. "I can tell you desire this." I bit my lower lip to keep in the moan of pleasure as I felt his teeth nip at the nape of my neck. He dragged his fangs over the sensitive skin and I began to shake at the sensations that flowed through me with each stroke. "Yet you still fight it. Why?" he asked, halting his ministrations much to my displeasure. I had been enjoying that.

"Because I am not a whore," I bit out. "And I'm not giving up my virginity to the likes of you. . . ." I added in an undertone. Lucky me that he heard what I had said. . . .

"Virgin?" Naraku repeated with an incredulous tone. I felt him move off me, albeit reluctantly. He then turned me over to face him. I slowly sat up, taking in the widening smirk on his face with narrowed eyes.

"I find it hard to believe that you have yet to be claimed," Naraku commented.

I blushed a deep red at this declaration. Did he just say I was pretty? Nah. That couldn't be right. _Naraku_ would _never_ say something like _that_! Right?

"You will be my mate. The only woman I deem worthy of such a position," Naraku concluded as if that was the most wonderful thing in the world. I had this odd feeling that he expected me to be thrilled about his decision.

Needless to say, I was far from it.

". . .WHAT?" I screamed right in his face. I shot to my feet, face red with my own anger and embarrassment. My fiery emotions right now easily overshadowed Naraku's initial shock and. . .ugh. . .increased arousal. (insert roll of eyes here). "I don't want to be _anyone's_ damn mate! No one owns me, got that!" I shouted at him. I was oblivious to the fact that my emotions had, once again, gone overboard. Usually I could control my composure. Sometimes to the point that I could actually give SesshoMaru a good run for his money. But whenever I experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions (such as these past few days), I tended to get. . .well, _murderous_.

"You. I. Ugh!" I growled, unable to even form simple sentences. Rage, frustration, and, I'll even admit, a _shade_ of embarrassment warred inside of me. It felt like a hurricane, an earthquake, _and _atornado had all slammed into me and merged with my emotions. I even felt strong gusts of wind sweeping through my long hair (which had fallen from its pigtails sometime in the night), whipping the silky strands around my tensed body. Scarlet colored my vision until it seemed I was looking through a pair of sunglasses. I lost focus, not paying the least bit of attention to Naraku's amused features.

Okay. _That_ was an outright lie. His amusement simply pissed me off even _more_. I felt energy crackling around me, nipping at my skin with little electric shocks. Funny thing was, instead of _hurting_ me, the electricity seemed to _empower_ me. I felt strength seeping into my muscles, my heart speeding up with something akin to adrenaline but I, somehow, knew it wasn't, and my mind becoming sharper than it ever had before until I could practically _predict_ Naraku's next move.

He lunged at me suddenly. I easily moved out of the way. His large hand closed in on empty air, although he had managed to break the wind that had kicked up in the room. Everything was silent once more as we stared at each other from across the large room.

Me. Well, I was _glaring_; not staring. . . . Oh well.

"Ember. . . ." Naraku uttered that simple word, but there was such warning and darkness in it that I felt my heart freeze. That, and at his voice alone. Why oh why did his voice have to be so damn sexy? So deep and dark. . . .

I felt my back slamming into the wall behind me. I could have sworn I heard a couple of ribs cracking (if not _all_ of them). My hiss of pain slipped from between my clenched teeth as I slid to the floor. A shadow loomed over my aching body and I glared up into the owner's dark face. I wasn't afraid. I was _pissed_! But mostly at myself for getting distracted by my own stupid fantasies. . . .and those ridiculous and useless hormones. . . . I _so_ hate being a teenager!

"Don't let yourself be consumed by your own foolish human emotions," Naraku ordered as if I could actually prevent them. I bit my lip and looked down at the floor, knowing that the only reason I had snapped out of that murderous state was because I had just been thrown around the room like a rag doll. But it wasn't as if I could control this power! I decided on telling him that.

"I can't control it," I stated simply, raising my storm-grey eyes back up to the hanyou's face. That crimson glare held my gaze instantly, and I found I couldn't glance away even if I wanted to.

"Try," was all he said as he turned away from me and exited the room.

I stared after him, surprised that he had left me here. After a few minutes, I felt a trickle of happiness run through the tumult of surprise and residual anger.

Heh. Heh. He'd learn soon enough that it was a _very_ bad idea to leave me to my own devices. . . .


End file.
